A tractor-trailer rig typically utilizes a kingpin rigidly affixed to the trailer frame for connecting the trailer to a tractor. The kingpin is a vertically oriented shaft that extends downward from the forward end of the trailer and is engaged for pivotal movement within a conventional fifth-wheel located on the frame of a tractor. Typical fifth-wheels include a horizontally oriented deck plate on which the forward end of the trailer rests, defining an inwardly converging receiver wherein the king pin is secured. The upper surface of the fifth-wheel must be greased to facilitate the pivotal movement of the trailer on the fifth-wheel, such pivotal movement being necessary to accommodate the steering of the tractor-trailer rig. The greasing of a fifth-wheel is a time consuming operation that must be continually repeated The grease applied to the fifth-wheel will not remain on the fifth-wheel and tends to drip onto the tractor's frame or onto the highway Many state law enforcement agencies currently fine truck drivers either for not having a sufficient amount of grease on the fifth-wheel which makes for unsafe turning of the vehicle or for having too much grease such that grease drips onto the road surface creating a hazard for other drivers. Even if the driver maintains a sufficient amount of grease on the fifth-wheel, turning of the rig about a corner or the like, creates a substantial amount of friction between the planar contact of the fifth-wheel and the trailer. This friction resists the pivotal motion about the kingpin which in turn wears the tread from the tractor's front tires
Also associated with the connection of the tractor to the trailer is the use of what are called pigtails. These pigtails are flexible connector lines connected to a tractor's pneumatic, hydraulic or electrical systems to operatively connect such systems to the trailer Current practice requires the operator to manually locate the pigtails and properly connect them. This requires the driver to get out of the tractor and perhaps climb onto or beneath the rear of the tractor to make such a connection. Such areas of a tractor are very greasy, making the typical connection of pigtails an unpleasant experience